


you're nothing, but not to me || reylo fix-it

by AnironSidh



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst with a Happy Ending, Badass Rey, Ben Solo Deserves Better, Ben Solo Lives, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Don't Have to Know Canon, Don't Like Don't Read, F/M, Fix-It, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Force Soulmates, Grey Jedi, I Tried, I have feelings, Injury Recovery, Kinda?, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, My Heart Is Broken, OTP Feels, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Protective Poe Dameron, Redeemed Ben Solo, Rey Needs A Hug, Simple as that, Space Husbands, That ending sucked, They both need a Hug, Trials, abrams you coward, antis don't interact, aw yeah, cause i have limited knowledge, finn/Poe like oscar issac wanted, give us the space husbands, giving ben solo the ending he deserved, he protecc, huh, i just relate to ben on some inner level, made after episode 9, this is my world now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:28:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22013362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnironSidh/pseuds/AnironSidh
Summary: The aftermath of the victory. They may have won, but what comes next? What happens when the battle is won, when the fight is over, but a former enemy is brought into their midst? What happens when Rey brings a near-death Ben Solo back with her? The remaining Resistance is not willing to forgive him easily for what he has done as Kylo Ren. It will not be easy, but it must be done.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, Reylo, Rose Tico & Rey
Comments: 20
Kudos: 69





	1. It's Been A Long Day

**Author's Note:**

> aka I just saw rise of skywalker and I am NOT happy with that ending. i may not know much about star wars, but that's not gonna stop me. they're canon now and happy, shut up. also, finn/poe like oscar issac wants. cause why not, bring on the space husbands.

It was far from a smooth landing, perhaps the worst she’d ever done, but it was all Rey could do to keep the x-wing flying. It was difficult enough to see through the tears, never mind the mess still caking the window. The x-wing wasn’t built to hold two people, especially not one bigger than her and unconscious. 

She refused to just  _ leave him there _ on Exegol. How could she? Ben brought her back. It was just returning the favor, really. Of course, they really needed to have a talk at some point. 

Rey glanced over nervously as they entered the base planet’s atmosphere. He was still out, head lolling backwards due to his rather cramped position. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. It wasn’t optimal, but hopefully it would be enough to get him back. What she would do once they saw him… well, that wasn’t anything she could control. Poe wouldn’t like it, she already knew, and Finn wouldn’t be happy with it even if he allowed it. 

The first thing she could see was Chewie, wading around in the midst of Resistance fighters. It was still such a relief to see him alive and happy. She managed to land the x-wing despite Ben getting in the way, taking a deep breath, and opened the starfighter up. 

“Rey!” She turned as she got out to see Finn and Poe, racing towards her across the crowd. They rocketed around anything in their way to get to her with obvious relief on their faces. Suddenly she realized… they couldn’t see him. She was standing right in the way of their view of Ben. Chewie came following after, of course. Poe just about reached her, opening his arms to pull her into a hug, then stopped no more than a foot away. 

Her stomach sunk. He’d  _ seen _ . Rey turned her head back to look, letting out a helpless sigh as Finn and Chewie reached her. 

“Rey,” Poe murmured as she turned back to him. “Is… is that who I think it is? What the hell is  _ he _ doing here?”

She shook her head, moving to block him. “No, Poe, it’s fine,” she pleaded, grabbing his wrists to stop him from running at the fighter. “Listen to me, please. I know what I’m doing, Poe, but you have to just  _ listen _ .”

Finn stepped forward, nervously eyeing the fighter, and grabbed Poe’s shoulder to hold him back. “Okay. Let’s all calm down, alright? Pretty sure he’s not a danger to any of us right now. Rey, what happened?”

“And why is fucking  _ Kylo Ren _ in your fighter?” Poe hissed through clenched teeth. Finn tightened his grip on the man’s shoulder, shooting him a warning look. 

“It’s not Ren,” she began, Poe scoffing. “Really. That’s not who he is anymore, you have to trust me. He’s just Ben Solo now. He helped me defeat Palpatine, back on Exegol. Poe, he saved my life. He brought me  _ back _ to life. I wasn’t about to just leave him there to die. Do you think Leia would have wanted that, for her son to die alone?”

Poe flinched. She felt a  _ little _ bad at playing the Leia card, especially so soon, but it worked. It hurt to bring it up. Chewie whined when he rambled up, though she wasn’t sure if it was at the mention of Leia or the sight of Ben. It hit her suddenly out of nowhere that Chewie had known Ben growing up. 

Rose rounded the fighter, stopped, and stared. Rey sighed. This was  _ not _ how she had wanted this to go. The plan had been to get Ben inside and  _ then _ explain herself.

“Rey, what’s going on? Is he a prisoner?” she asked, almost sounding excited. 

“No,” Rey said, glancing back at him. “It’s a long story, Rose. He saved my life on Exegol. Can  _ you _ trust me?”

Rose took one more look at the unconscious former First Order leader, then nodded. “Sure. You’ll need a med bay, right? I’m sure we’ve got one available somewhere, you know, off to the side. Keeping him away from prying eyes would be better for healing, anyways.”

Poe scoffed, stepping back. “Okay, and how exactly are we supposed to get him in? In case you haven’t noticed, everyone else is going to see Kylo Ren, no matter whether or not he’s someone different now.”

Chewie’s response was quiet, though Poe heard it loud and clear. 

“What?” Finn asked, looking between them. 

“Our buddy Chewie here,” Poe replied. “Will carry him in. Says he misses it, anyways. That alright with you, Rey?”

She looked up at Chewie instead and forced a smile. “Of course. I trust him.” The wookie seemed to smile, as if taking it as an apology. It was good to have him back after thinking he’d been gone, especially because she’d blamed herself. 

Rose ducked behind a few boxes for a moment and returned holding a few blankets triumphantly. She handed them to Rey, gesturing to the fighter Chewie was walking to and to Ben. One blanket went under Ben, now held gently by Chewie, and wrapped around him in an attempt to conceal him. There was only so much they could do, but it worked. Somehow, in the midst of all the chaos of celebration, it worked. 

Poe wasn’t sure what to think. Rey trusted him now, which must mean something, but how could she be sure? He looked back at Chewie, struck all of a sudden with a vision he’d never seen and yet could picture  _ so _ clearly. He saw, just for a moment, a Chewie from not too long ago holding a small, black-haired child that had fallen asleep somewhere they shouldn’t be. Poe shook his head as if to shake it away. He still couldn’t always understand the wookie’s facial expressions, but somehow it looked as if Chewie remembered the same thing. 

Finn glanced over, one eyebrow raised as if to ask ‘ _ you okay? _ ’. He nodded, giving a thumbs up to emphasize it. Finn obviously didn’t believe him even if he let it go and turned away to open the door for Chewie. He waited until everyone but Rey was through to continue walking. She didn’t even turn her head to look at him. 

“Are you doing alright?” he asked her, making sure to walk in time with her now-sluggish steps. “Rey, you might want to let them look at you.”

She waved him off rather dizzily. “M fine, Finn. Just need a nap, that’s all.”

“Right,” he muttered. “Because you’re  _ always _ acting like this. Don’t make me or Poe order you. You know we’ll do that, General’s orders or something.”

“I’ve got to be here,” she replied, pausing for a second to catch her balance. 

Finn guided her to the second bed from the end with a sigh. “At least take a nap, Rey. I’ll make sure Poe doesn’t kill him, alright?”

“Hey!” Poe called from the other side of the curtain. “I heard that!”

Rey laid down, surprisingly without complaining, though she insisted on pulling the curtain back before she did so. She watched Rose gather supplies and put them down on a little table beside Ben’s head. She wanted  _ so badly _ to sleep, to let her problems drift away for a moment, but the other half of her refused to let Ben be alone. 

She knew what that felt like. They both did, both had been alone before. She wouldn’t abandon him like others had. 

“Relax, Rey,” Rose murmured. “He’ll be alright. You deserve a rest, after today.”

Finn watched Rey struggle to reach across the gap for a moment, sighed, and moved her bed a few feet closer. Rey grabbed Ben’s hand, finally smiling as she drifted off to a more peaceful sleep than she’d had in far too long. 


	2. Without you, my friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe still doesn't trust Ben, Rose thinks he's being ridiculous (and is a nurse, huh), and Rey realizes just why Ben still hasn't woken up... and why he may never be like before. Hope, however, is a powerful weapon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First fic update of the new year! Happy 2020, y'all! May this new year (and decade) bring speedy fic updates, cures to writer's block, and many fix-it fics to tide us over until JJ figures out he's screwed up 😂.

The curtain was still open when Rey woke up, to her surprise. Poe was sitting in a chair between the beds, definitely something she expected. He gave her a look that might have been at attempt at innocence. Rey rolled her eyes. 

“Have a nice nap?” he quipped, eyes flashing beside her. 

Rey turned so fast she heard something  _ pop _ , then breathed. Ben was still there, still unconscious, but alive. He’d been changed into a med bay gown at some point after she’d passed out. That at least explained why she was no longer holding his hand, something she quickly remedied. She let out a relieved breath. He was alright, at the very least, he was still alive. 

She looked around the room, just now noticed the barrier that separated them from the rest of the med bay. There were other Resistance fighters beyond, some getting looked after and others asleep. 

“How is it out there?” she asked Poe, turning to him. 

He shrugged, looking out at the fighters. “Eh, getting calmer,” he replied. “Not too many casualties, not like we expected when we first got back, Finn and I have been taking turns checking on you and being out there. It’s a nice break, to get away from that. Rose left about, I don’t know, an hour ago? She’ll be back once she’s rested to check on him.”

Rey glanced over. “And how is he? Is it good?”

“Not bad.” Poe glared at the floor for a minute. “Ask Rose when she gets back. She’ll know better than me.”

She caught the underlying meaning to his words, noticing how Poe would only look at her or outside the room but never at Ben. “Poe, you don’t have to stand guard. He’s not going to hurt me, especially not like he is right now. Can’t you trust me?”

“Sure,” he replied, shrugging. “I trust you. That doesn’t mean I have to trust  _ him _ , not yet. Not till I’ve got a reason to. Everyone out there, once they know he's here, they’re all going to need way more than me to even begin to trust him. I trust your judgement, Rey. If he poses a danger, though, I can’t stand by. It’s up to you to make sure nothing happens.”

“It’ll be fine, Poe. I know it will.” It would. He  _ had _ changed, back on Exegol. His face was different, no longer the emotionless mask of  _ Kylo Ren _ , but the ardent expression of Ben Solo, the man she’d  _ known _ was there all along. 

Rey had to believe that because otherwise, what could she hold on to? She couldn’t believe that the world was fair if Ben didn’t get the happy ending he deserved after so much pain. 

She sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed while being careful to keep ahold of Ben’s hand. It was quiet in their room thanks to the barrier. She heard Poe shift in his seat awkwardly, then stand up and walk outside to stand on the other side of the barrier. It was fine with her. Rey _ knew _ he wouldn’t approve of this. His response earlier had been exactly what she’d expected from him. Poe had no reason to trust Ben, none of them did. There would  _ always _ be someone who would only see him as Kylo Ren instead of who she  _ knew _ he was now. 

“I hope you’re alright,” she whispered. Ben showed no sign that he’d heard her voice, no movement but the gentle rise and fall of his chest. She was content, for the moment, to simply sit there with him. He looked so  _ peaceful _ now. He must have been cleaned up at some point, the blood and dirt from Exegol gone, leaving a youthful face behind. Rey absentmindedly used her free hand to fix Ben’s hair into a semblance of what it should’ve looked like. 

Rey turned back to the barrier’s door when she heard a knock, her hand still fixing Ben’s hair, and sat back. She waved Rose in with a smile. 

“Feeling a little better after that nap?” Rose asked with a smile. “I see Poe’s outside. Finally chased him out?”

Rey laughed quietly, glancing back at the man still standing out there. “I think he got a little uncomfortable. He doesn’t really like this whole thing, I’m afraid.”

Rose turned back for a moment and sighed. “ _ I _ trust your judgement. Poe’s got other issues. Ben just happened to be the spark he needed.”

As if on cue, Poe turned to look at the two of them for a moment before he turned back, appearing almost conflicted. Rose rolled her eyes. She dumped a pile of medical supplies on the table beside Ben and began sorting them. Rey watched her for a moment, noticing the way Rose handled the supplies carefully. 

“How do you know what to do with all of that? I only ever learned how to use bandages back on Jakku,” Rey admitted. She’d only ever needed that little bit of knowledge to fix up injuries she got from scavenging. 

Rose shrugged. “There weren’t many schools on my homeworld, especially for girls, so my… my sister and I learned how to be nurses. She was more into it than I was. I just hoped it would get me out of there someday,” she explained, pausing for a brief second at the mention of her sister. “It’s certainly come in handy now. The less people that have to come in here, the less people that know about him, the better. Not until he’s better, at least.”

Rey looked back at Ben, squeezing his hand tighter. “How is he? Any better?”

“Not too bad, actually,” Rose replied with a comforting smile. “Bruises and things like that for the most part. Nothing’s broken as far as I can tell, though his right leg might be sprained, we’ll have to get him up and walking to see if it’s serious at all.”

She sighed, moving to sit on the edge of his bed while Rose continued her work. “He should be awake by now, shouldn’t he?” she said, leaving  _ I need him now _ unsaid. She was alright, almost strangely so, and yet Ben showed no signs of waking anytime soon. 

Rose seemed to think for a moment. “It could be something that isn’t a physical injury,” she suggested, looking over at Rey. “What happened back on Exegol? Anything that could have done this, specifically.”

What  _ had _ he done that she hadn’t? He’d fought the Knights, but somehow that didn’t make  _ sense _ . Why wasn’t Ben  _ awake _ if it was battle exhaustion, not…

Rey’s stomach hit the floor the second she realized, when she remembered what he had done for her…

“He brought me back,” she whispered, in shock. “He… He used his last energy to bring me back. Palpatine called it a ‘force like life itself’, and he used it for  _ me _ .”

Rose attached tubing to Ben’s hand, connecting it to a bag of clear liquid hanging above, and stood back. “We can hope, Rey,” she replied, confident. 

The only thing they really could do  _ was _ hope, she supposed, arranging herself so she was lying beside him but not in the way of anything. Hope was her tactic, for the moment, until Ben woke up and got the second chance he deserved more than anything. 


	3. I'll Tell You All About It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new beginning and a long-awaited reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been awhile, I know, but I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Have some sappy babies (more to come next chapter)

The feeling of restlessness under Rey’s skin had grown by the next morning. She watched Ben sleep for a few hours, concentrating on the fact that he was  _ alive _ . She still wasn’t sure what to think about the lack of really any movement at  _ all _ . Rose hadn’t come back yet, the only visitor being a medical droid in the middle of the night coming to check on him. 

“Ben,” she whispered, fixing his hair even if just for something to  _ do _ . “I’m feeling rather alone right about now. You’ve had your dramatic bit, yeah? I’d really like to actually talk with you and not at you for once.”

Rey waited a moment for any sign that he’d heard her before she sat up. The constant beeping of the medical equipment was beginning to get on her nerves, now just an annoying reminder of Ben’s condition. 

She glanced up when someone knocked on the barrier, smiling when she saw Finn. She waved him in quickly. 

“Anything good?” he asked, glancing behind her at Ben. 

Rey shook her head and sighed, fighting to keep her smile on her face. “Nothing yet. How is it out there?”

Finn shrugged, sitting on her vacant bed. “Still crazy,” he replied. “Poe and I are working on getting prisoners sorted and keeping everyone else away from them.”

“Prisoners?” she asked. She hadn’t even had an idea that there  _ were _ prisoners at all. They would be First Order officers, most likely, or stormtroopers… and Ben, she thought with a sudden chill. He wouldn’t be allowed to go free, not having been who he  _ was _ . 

“Yeah, officers and whatnot. They’re starting to pile up as we’re clearing planets,” Finn explained, catching her moment of pause. “No one knows he’s here yet.”

Rey reached back for Ben’s hand, turning ever so slightly. “That won’t last, Finn. We both know that.”

He sighed, feigning a smile. “It’s going to be fine, Rey. I’ve… A few people have asked if we’ve found Kylo Ren yet, but it’s not really lying when we tell them we haven’t, isn’t it? You said that’s not who he is anymore.”

“Yeah,” she whispered.

Finn stayed there with her for a few more minutes in silence, simply a comforting presence, before he stood up to leave. He’d barely made it to the door before Poe barged in, not even knocking. 

“Rey,” he said as soon as he was near her. “Look, you need a little break, yeah? We’ve got to go through Leia’s things and I… I’d like if you could help. Since you knew her an’ all that.”

She looked up at him, noting the pain in his eyes he seemed determined to hide, and nodded. The underlying ‘I can’t do it on my own’ came through loud and clear to her. Finn nodded, holding the door open for the both of them. They waited as Rey tucked the blanket around Ben with a quick kiss to his forehead before she followed them out. 

Rey paused in the doorway for a second, gazing back at him for a lingering moment, then turned away to follow Finn and Poe. 

-

Poe set yet another pile aside. It was hard enough going through the things Leia had left behind… He couldn’t even begin to imagine how he would manage to do it alone. Finn sat beside him, keeping up idle chatter as they sorted. He was the one person, since Leia had been gone, that Poe felt he could lean on entirely. 

He glanced over at Rey, going through a box of things on the bed. She seemed lost in her task as she picked something up and held it in her hands for a moment. Poe felt a little guilty. Rey would listen to his problems, he knew, but she seemed so burdened already. The war was over and yet she still carried that weight on her shoulders. After Exegol the rest of the Rebellion was buoyant by comparison. He’d seen  _ something _ clouding her eyes when she landed, attached to  _ him _ despite being surrounded by her friends. 

“Rey, you good?” Finn asked, stepping over towards her. She looked up with a smile that both men knew was forced, so unlike her truly happy ones. 

“I’m fine,” she replied with a shrug. “Just a bit tired still. I haven’t been sleeping as well as I’d like, really. I’ll be fine.”

Finn sighed. “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”

Rey nodded, staring down resolutely. “I am,” she murmured. “I can’t… I can’t lose anyone else. I’ve lost too much. It’s… I can’t lose Ben too.”

Poe stood suddenly, striding across the room to lean down enough to pull Rey into a tight hug. It was wordless and better because of that. Finn joined them after a moment silently. Rey let out a shuddering breath, sniffling back tears. 

“Rey-... Oh, am I interrupting something?” Rose moved to step back out of the room, mouth already open with an apology at the ready. 

The three of them glanced up, Rey wiping her face dry with her sleeve. She beckoned Rose in with a pat on the bed beside her. Rose sat and reached out for Rey’s hands to hold them in hers with a smile.

“Somethin’ happen?” Poe asked, a little more than confused. 

Rose swatted him away, turning to Rey. “Yes, not that I was talking to you,” she shot back, still smiling. “Anyways, Rey, I wanted to let you know…

“He’s awake and asking for you.”

-

The room was oddly quiet without the Resistance girl now. Of course, Ben had hardly been aware of the room for a few minutes. And  _ kriff _ , his head pounded worse than it ever had. Not even the blandest meeting with  _ Hux  _ could come close. Not even…

_ Rey _ .

Ben shot up at the soft intake of breath from the door. Rey stood frozen in the doorway, a hand raised to her mouth and tears glistening in her eyes. He reached a shaky hand out to her as she jolted forwards across the room to him. She collapsed into Ben, her head tucked into his neck as she shook with  _ sobs _ , he realized. 

“You  _ kriffing idiot _ ,” she mumbled into his neck. “Don’t scare me like that again.”

He held her tighter to his chest, running a hand through the loose curls falling over her shoulder. At that moment there could be no better feeling than holding Rey in his arms where he knew she was safe.

“I won’t. I promise with all my heart, Rey,” he murmured. 

Rey glanced up with a watery smile and a shaky laugh. “You’d better not.” She reached to tuck a dark lock of hair behind his ear. “I’m holding you to that promise. I won’t lose you again, Ben.”


End file.
